Biography
Born in the United States, Perla established himself as a talented pianist and composer who gained steadily greater prominence on the contemporary jazz landscape across the 1990s. Between 1987 and 1991 he directed Music Without Walls in New York City, a group whose members included Pheeroan Ak Laff, Marty Ehrlich, Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander and John Goldsby. His strong engagement with Indian music led him to collaborate in performance and on recordings with several prominent Indian artists, most notably tabla master Zakir Hussain, who joined him on George Brooks’ 1998 album Night Spinner. After relocating to San Francisco he regularly shared stages with area figures such as Paul McCandless, violinist Darol Anger and Hussain. Festival appearances encompassed the Texaco New York Jazz Festival, The Knitting Factory in New York and the Monterey Jazz Festival, as well as events in Finland and the United Kingdom. The 1997 Thelonious Monk Institute and BMI Jazz Composers Award recognized his composition “Roman Candles,” which he included on Swimming Lessons For The Dead. The following year he toured Japan, where his trio performed on Tokyo television. Additional associates have included Will Kennedy and John McLaughlin, both of whom contributed to The Visit alongside McCandless, Anger, Seamus Blake, Craig Handy, Paul Hanson, Steve Smith and Rodney Whitaker.
Perla’s compositional reach extends beyond jazz into works for classical orchestra and chamber ensembles. Organizations and institutions that have granted him awards, fellowships and commissions include the Chicago Symphony, the American Music Center, the Yale University School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music and the Oakland Symphony. Music at the Anthology in New York City, whose executive producer is Philip Glass, gave the premiere of his C# Minor Complex late in 1998. He has also composed scores for independent films, among them Emperor Nero!, an opera-musical that prompted a simultaneous Oakland Symphony commission for the violin concerto “Nero Burns One.” Educational activities encompass directing the Composer in the Schools program in San Francisco in 1999, teaching in the Young Musician’s Program at UC Berkeley and participating in the Oakland Symphony’s outreach initiatives. The 1997 piece “Trane Of Thought,” commissioned by the Oakland East Bay Symphony and performed by the Oaktown Jazz Workshop Band, illustrates the intersection of his composing and teaching. He has additionally instructed music theory and ear training in the Pre-College Division of the Manhattan School of Music.
Perla’s compositional reach extends beyond jazz into works for classical orchestra and chamber ensembles. Organizations and institutions that have granted him awards, fellowships and commissions include the Chicago Symphony, the American Music Center, the Yale University School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music and the Oakland Symphony. Music at the Anthology in New York City, whose executive producer is Philip Glass, gave the premiere of his C# Minor Complex late in 1998. He has also composed scores for independent films, among them Emperor Nero!, an opera-musical that prompted a simultaneous Oakland Symphony commission for the violin concerto “Nero Burns One.” Educational activities encompass directing the Composer in the Schools program in San Francisco in 1999, teaching in the Young Musician’s Program at UC Berkeley and participating in the Oakland Symphony’s outreach initiatives. The 1997 piece “Trane Of Thought,” commissioned by the Oakland East Bay Symphony and performed by the Oaktown Jazz Workshop Band, illustrates the intersection of his composing and teaching. He has additionally instructed music theory and ear training in the Pre-College Division of the Manhattan School of Music.
Albums